Vision Therapy 2

Well, today was quite a day. Our follow up consultation with Dr. Foley was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. I think we were all still a little apprehensive. Would Sherry be a good candidate for vision therapy or would her work with the prisms be the most that could be done for her at Foley Vision Center? As it turned out the appointment was a very positive experience. They have recommended that Sherry undergo 25 sessions of vision therapy to try to help her eyes work together, to help retrain the brain to recognize what it is she is seeing and various other things. The sessions are 40 minutes long once a week. Dr. Foley seems very impressed with Sherry's progress since coming home in February. She is optimistic that vision therapy along with all the other therapy Sherry is receiving can greatly improve her life. She does not discount the idea of Sherry being able to work again at some point. In fact she is very upbeat about the possibilities. She also prescribed glasses for Sherry, which made her very happy. Sherry has felt for a long time that she would benefit from glasses. She should get those sometime next week. She will continue to work with the prisms, especially during physical therapy.

After the appt. we went to DMV so that I could renew my Oregon ID card that had expired on my birthday last month. While I was there I talked the lady behind the counter into giving a me quick driver's eye exam. As most of you know, I have never been able to drive due to my own eye condition. Specialized contact lenses that we got in Boston several years have made a huge difference in my quality of life. At the time I got the lenses, I was 38 years old, had never had a license. The thought of actually trying to get one had rarely crossed my mind. I had always gotten along fine without one and besides, Sherry could drive. Well, now we find ourselves unable to get around on our own. It is very hard to have to rely on others for transportation all of the time. Well, I managed to pass the quick eye exam so I think I am finally ready to learn how to drive. If that little piece of news doesn't scare the bejesus out of those of you who know me I don't know what will :)

So, it was a very exciting, busy day. Sherry now has even more work ahead of her but we are so impressed with all of the therapists on "her team." We are all excited about the possibilities.

enough for now,

I love my wife.......tomorrow we move forward,



Dean

Where are the Lou Gehrigs?

Okay, I know it's a strange title for this blog. I am just dead tired and trying to stay up long enough to put a few thoughts down. As I write this, one of my favorite T.V. shows is on in the background. PBS has a great show called "History Detectives." If you have never seen it, I recommend it highly, for what it is worth. One segment of tonight's show centered around baseball great Lou Gehrig. Gehrig is of course known for his consecutive game record that stood for years and years, his integrity and his famous "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech of July 4, 1939. He made his famous statement that day probably knowing that he was dying of the horrible disease that now bears his name. I found myself fighting back some tears as I watched the story and the old footage of the speech (which I have of course seen a bizillion times.) It was not the first time today that I almost felt like crying.

Earlier in the day I went out to lunch to Papa's Pizza. Before I left work I grabbed a newspaper to read while I ate. It turned out to be part of the Sunday R-G. After reading about the latest news on the Ducks and the Op-Ed page I came across a story by Mark Baker. He was paying tribute to a former girlfriend who was murdered 10 years ago. I think it might be the most powerful piece of local journalism I have read in years. It is a long story, but I think it's worth the time to read. If you are interested follow this link (after you finish this of course :) Link

What do these two things have to do with Sherry and our current situation? For one thing, perspective. My family has been though a lot in the last year or so. I have said before how easy it is to wallow in self pity, to think that our situation is the worst ever (yes, I have actually had that thought at times.) Well, my wife is alive and working hard to recover. If you read Mark Bakers story you will feel the pain of suddenly losing someone that you had loved and continued to be close to. They don't have the chance to recover...they are gone, and the pain does not go away.

So...where does that leave Lou Gehrig in all of this? What is Lou Gehrig really famous for? He is most famous for his work ethic, his humility and integrity. Yes, he did great things on the ball field, but I think his greatness transcended the game he played. He set an example for life in general. Work hard, be humble and honest and if the unimaginable happens approach it with those same qualities. I have always thought that he embodied the values of the "little guy."

Sherry is not famous, she has not set any records. She has worked hard, very hard to get better. She is consistently humble, always giving credit to her family and therapists for her progress. She always says she needs to work harder. She knows just what she wants and we are going to get there. I have said it before, she is my hero. I will do anything to help her. She does not consider herself the "luckiest person on the face of the earth" by any means. However, I know exactly what she would say if she was pushed in front of a microphone at Yankee Stadium. " I am Sherry Ann Emert Jackson...and I am alive and moving forward!" She has handled herself with a grace that amazes me. She is not a wonderwoman, just a everyday girl who puts her head down and plows ahead everyday.

Just something to contemplate. Where are the Lou Gehrigs today? If you accept my premise that he stood for hard work, humility, integrity and honesty...where do you see that in today's popular culture? President Bush?? Mel Gibson?? Barry Bonds?? Rush Limbaugh?? Times are sure different, it's a shame.

Sorry for the rambling tonight, enough for now

I love my wife.....tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

Thank you :)

Just a short post tonight to thank those of you that take the time and effort to leave words of encouragement for Sherry. It really does make a difference. When Sherry knows that someone has left a comment she makes me pull up a chair to the computer where she can sit and we go to the website and then to the blog where she has me read all the comments. It almost always brings some tears to her eyes. I have become amazed at what a few words can do for her attitude. I know that you are all very busy, but please keep it up. You are a big part of Sherry getting better.

I can't thank you enough,

enough for now, (told you I would keep it short tonight)

I love my wife....tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

Prisms

Today was Sherry's second visit to the Foley Vision Center
She was scheduled for a sensory motor exam and she was more than a little apprehensive about it. I think she was afraid that they would tell her that there was nothing they could do for her. While we won't know for sure until next week, after the appointment, we all felt pretty good about the posibilities.

I resisted the temptation to post this entry as soon as we got home. I wanted to let a little time pass to digest what had happened. What seemed to have happened has us very encouraged. When we arrived at the clinic Jody and I helped Sherry navigate her way from the car to the clinic door. We held her hand and used verbal cues. We moved slowly as we usually do in unfamiliar territory.

The exam began with the vision therapist asking Sherry to walk around the room unassisted. After observing this for awhile, she put a pair of prisms on Sherry's face. Prisms are designed to bend light and "bring the world" into the brain in a different way (at least I think that is what the therapist said.) She had Sherry walk around the room again and then changed the degree of angle of the prisms. Sherry was asked to walk around the room again and again the degree of angle was changed. This happened several times and then Sherry (with prisms) was put through a few tests. At the end of the exam, Sherry was asked to find me in the room and walk toward me. She located me right away and walked to me faster than I have ever seen her walk, with a huge smile on her face. We repeated this several times. It seemed obvious that something was different. Sherry thought so too. The therapist told us that by changing the prism, we had been stimulating different areas of Sherry's brain.

At first I was very excited, but then I began to wonder if Sherry had just gotton used to the room and that was the reason she was getting about so well. As we left the clinic, the therapist followed us all the way out to the car to see if there was any "residual" effects from using the prisms. This is when I really started to get excited. Sherry followed me out to the car. There was nobody holding her hand or giving her directions. She was walking with confidence, at a faster pace than usual. It is hard to explain, but things were different, better. Everyone felt it. We know this is not a miracle, that Sherry's eyesight is not now suddenly restored. However, it was a very encouraging moment. Maybe there really are things we can do to help get her vision back, or at least improve her quality of life. We will know more when we consult with Dr. Foley next week.

I want to thank Jody for all her help, her observations were a big help during Sherry's appointment. I also want to extend a big thank you to my co-worker Lynne. I had not intended on going to this appointment with Sherry because of work. Lynne could tell how much I wanted to be there and talked me into going. Thank you Lynne.

enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

Looking forward

Well, another fairly busy weekend now behind us. On Saturday my sister Kim picked us up and we all went to my brother Brian's house warming party. Brian and Amber have recently returned "home" after spending a few years in Illinois. Everyone is glad that they are back. We missed them while they were away. Sherry did well but due to the heat we only stayed a few hours.

On Sunday we went to church for the first time in several weeks. It was good to be back. There was an all church picnic after services and we enjoyed the fine company, food and music. Our church has been so very supportive of our family since Sherry became ill in July of last year. Our Pastor, Doug Rose made several trips to Portland when Sherry was in the hospital there. He was more helpful to me than I think he really knows. The church as a whole supported (and continue to support) us in many ways. They have donated money, transportation, moral support and much more. We don't thank them as often we should. They have made a huge difference. If we didn't have the support of our family and friends, our church, our places of employment and in some cases, people we don't even know, we would never had made it through this. It really does "take a village."

Looking forward, Sherry has her second appointment at the Foley Vision Center on Tuesday. Dr. Foley contacted Sherry's therapists at Sacred Heart last week as she said she would. We are all excited about this new addition to Sherry's team of people who work so hard to help her. We won't know for a few weeks whether or not we will continue to work directly with Dr. Foley's office or not, we certainly hope so though.

Well, enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward.

Dean

Vision therapy

A very busy day today. I was able to go with Sherry to her therapy sessions today and was so proud of her. She worked on time telling skills in speech therapy. She struggles with the concept of reading time, but made some progress today. I think it is just a matter of time (no pun intended) before she gets the hang of it again. In physical therapy she continued working on "path finding" skills, getting from one place to another, finding objects etc. She shows improvement everytime I see her. At home she is getting around much better also, no longer afraid to get up and explore or "run amuck" as she says. Lori (occupational therapist) wants us to get her working in the kitchen more, so that will begin to become more of a priority.

The big news of the day was Sherry's visit to Foley Vision Center for an evaluation. This was very late in the afternoon, after a hard day of work already. But Sherry was wonderful and had a great attitude that I think impressed the staff at the Center. The bottom line seems to be that Sherry does have functional vision to work with. She certainly has deficits, some field loss and other issues, but they think they may be able to work with her to help her "relearn" how to see. She will go back next week for further testing, using some lenses and prisms and being put through some "real life" situations. After that session, we will consult again with Dr. Foley to decide if a vision therapy program would be helpful. I can't help but think it will be. The things Dr. Foley was saying fall right in line with what we think is happening with Sherry. The Doctor kept using the phrase "this is very exciting." She also said that we will probably not get to 20/20, but that her life might be greatly improved. I left feeling very good about the appointment. Sherry did also although she realizes that this means even more work for her. If anyone can do it, she can. The Vision Center is going to work closely with Sherry's other therapists at Scared Heart and I am excited about the possible gains she could make in the near future. This may be the final piece of the puzzle we need to bring Sherry as far back as possible. There is still a long road ahead but I go to bed tonight feeling good about where we are.

enough for now,

I love my wife.....tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

Family time

Wow...it's been a busy couple of days since I last posted. On Sunday, we got Chelsea off to her week long stint at church camp (thanks to Trish for the ride and of course to our church who made the whole thing possible.) We all hope this turns out to be fun, positive experience for her. Brittney will go to her camp this coming Sunday. Later on Sunday we travelled to Curtis and Joys house in Lebanon for a family reunion of sorts. Sherry's sister Michelle and part of her family were there as were Sean and Jody and kids. We had a great visit. It was the first time Sherry has seen Michelle in many months. She visited Sherry during the course of her illness, but Sherry does not remember it. If any of you are interested in seeng the photos and video clips from the trip just follow the link you will find at www.sherrysjourney.com. The food was wonderful and included halibut that Curtis had caught on their recent trip to Alaska. This was a pretty major trip for Sherry. It was the farthest she had been away from home since coming home in February. It was a long day for her, but she was great. Her strength is improving every day. The day was capped off back at home with a visit from Sherry's step mom Dona.

Today, I took the day off and we went to the girls school to get them regestered for the coming year. Then it was off to Costco. Sherry walked the whole time we were in the store, about two hours. Again, her strength is improving. When we got home Sherry worked with a deck of playing cards, identifying the numbers and suits very well, missing only one or two. This evening she took her second bath and totally enjoyed it. Getting in and out was no problem again.

Tomorrow is a huge day for us. I am taking the day off again to go to therapy with Sherry. She has all three sessions, so it will good for me to touch base with all of her therapists and to watch how well she is doing. Then late in the afternoon she has her vision therapy evaluation. Hopefully, they will tell us that she is a good candidate for vision therapy and we will get her going on that.

Well, we have had a few really good days and are hopeful for tomorrow. Enough for now.

I love my wife.....tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

something as simple as a .........

Before Sherry became ill one of her favorite simple pleasures in life was getting into her oval bathtub filled almost to the brim with scalding hot water. She would lay back and just soak it all in, watching a little tv, maybe eat a Skittle candy or two, sometimes light a few candles. She would be in heaven. Due to the complexities of getting in and out of her tub, we had not dared try a bath since she came home to us in February. It has been well over a year since Sherry has been able to enjoy a hot bath. Tonight we finally said enough talking about it...lets just do it! So tonight, Sherry got another little piece of her life back. Something as simple as a hot bath, it is amazing what a difference it can make. She did it. Getting in the tub was not too difficult. When the tub began filling with hot water, she started to cry she was so happy. When the tub was done filling I left her alone, peeking in on her from time to time. This is the happiest I have seen her in quite some time. When it was time to get out, I have to admit, I was a little anxious. But she did it with ease (and a little help from me.)

I know that being able to take a bath when she wants to will help bring back some sense of normalacy to her life. She is coming back, a little bit at a time. It is a joy to be a part of it. Tonight was a good night.

enough for now,

I love my wife...tomorrow we continue to move forward,

Dean

even on a less than good day...

Kind of a hard day all the way around today. Not profoundly hard, but somewhat difficult. For me, at work it was the last day of class for the year. I help teach 4 different preschool speech and language classes. Two of our classes will continue next year, but two of the groups will be moving on to kindergarten, so we will not be seeing them again. We have been working with some of these kids (and families) for over two years now. It is hard to say goodbye, but I know we have done alot to help them and that feels great. I have been doing this for about 12 years now and have seen many kiddos come and go. I am proud of what we do. My job has made it easier to get through our personal difficulties. I have had to get though the last few days without my cohort, Teacher Lynne. Lynne is recovering from ear surgery and will return next week. GET WELL SOON TEACHER LYNNE! I have had Brittney and Chelsea come to work with me all of this week to help out. I think it has been good for them and they have enjoyed it.

Sherry had a bit of a down day. Just thinking about what she cannot yet do instead of how far she has come. I remember when she first came home in February, I use to get kind of angry at her when she got this way. I just wanted to always be so positive, to plow ahead as if she shouldn't have normal feelings. It took me awhile to realize my mistake. She needs to know that it is okay and normal to have down times...who wouldn't? Now we just talk, joke our way out of it. I have two rules that I "enforce" with Sherry. She cannot say anything that is untrue about herself and she cannot put herself down. Other than that, if she wants to complain, whine, piss and moan I will listen. The majority of the time her attitude is amazing and is what keeps her going. She is doing great, even on a less than good day.

it's late....enough for now,

I love my wife....tomorrow we move forward,

Dean

One of those simple, special days

Today was a good day for me. I took our youngest daughter, Brittney, to work with me and totally enjoyed it. She was great working with the kids and really did help out alot. We both had lunch with my mother and that was great as well. A couple of things that had been weighing heavy on my mind were resolved. It looks as if Sherry's therapy will continue without interruption, at least for awhile longer. We are always afraid that OMAP will begin to deny coverage for her therapy sessions. She is still doing great, making great strides. It would be such a shame and very shortsighted for the State of Oregon to stop now and leave the job half finished. Sherry has so much potential and is so willing to put in the work, I can't believe that anyone would stand in her way. But, we know that it could happen at any time. We are trying to make arrangements for therapy alternatives in the event her sessions are cut off. But for now, all is well.

I was able, with the help of the downtown congregation of our church, to arrange for transportation to summer camp for both of our girls. As most of you know, I have never been able to drive due to a lifelong eye problem. Sherry has not been able to drive since her illness began. It is not easy raising a family without a car. We find ourselves constantly depending on others for help. I think it is one of the hardest things we have had to deal with since this all began. We are very fortunate that we know so many caring people who are willing to help. We appreciate you all.

Tonight, during dinner Sherry made a point to tell me that she could "see" her corn and her spoon better than she usually can. I watched her eat and it was like watching a normal sighted person eat. After dinner she got up to "run amuck" in the kitchen. She asked me why I hadn't put the Mayo away after seeing the jar on the counter. Then she told me I should cover the cookies Jody made with something so they would last longer. She is trying more things, working even harder at home. She is thinking things through, trying to figure out ways she can do things. She asked me to print out the letters of the alphabet so she can improve her skills in that area. She seems to be on a roll. She is still my "miracle in progress" and I love her so much.

Well it's time to turn in. If you have read this far, why not click on the "comments" link just below this post and send Sherry some encouraging words. She really appreciates them, as do I.

Enough for now,

I love my wife.......tomorrow we move forward

Dean

the little moments......

We now have an official teenager in the family. Chelsea turned 13 on Aug. 2nd. God help us all....lol! Chelsea is getting ready for a week of camp coming up this Sunday. It will be the longest time she has been away from home (if you do not count her stay at grandma's during Sherry's illness.) We think she is ready for it and hope that she has great time. We want to thank Allison Park Christian Church for paying for both of our girls to go to camp. Our church has been such a blessing to our family during this entire ordeal. I know we don't thank them enough.

The first of August was our 9th wedding anniversary. We waited until this last Saturday to celebrate however, going out to dinner at OutBack. With the exception of locking ourselves out of our house and a real "keystone cops" adventure getting back in, it was a wonderful time. I have a very special plan in store for Sherry next year for our anniversary.....shhhh, don't tell her :)

Happy birthday to Sean! We will celebrate with you this weekend.

This evening Sherry got up to go to the bathroom, something she does by herself all the time now. As I was working on the computer in the living room, Brittney suddenly said "daddy, mommy is digging around in her dresser" (something she does not normally do.) I walked into the bedroom and sure enough, she was into one of her drawers. She was almost a little teary eyed when she said "I was going to surprise you." She was looking for a nightgown and she wanted to get into it by herself. I helped her find one and then left the room. In less than two minutes she walked out in the nightgown with a great big smile on her face. We all gave her a huge hug and Brittney began to read the words she saw on Sherry's nightgown...."it's the little moments that make life special."

How true.

enough for now,

I love my wife.......tomorrow we move forward.

Dean

The vision thing

Only time for a real quick post as I get ready for work this morning. We got the okay from Dr. Mundall, Sherry's neurologist, to proceed with vision therapy. She will be evaluated soon to see if this kind of therapy can help her. Sherry's vision issues continue to be her primary concern, it worries her the most. When she first came out of the coma like state she was in for over six weeks, she could only see light and dark, and not much of that. She has what is called Cortical Blindness. The damage to her brain is in the area that affects vision. There is nothing wrong with her eyes. The brain is just not making sense of what she sees. It is difficult for her to explain what her vision is like. She says she can see somethings and not see other things. Certainly her vision has improved, but it remains very frustrating to her. Although there appears to be some permanant damage the brain is a mysterious thing. We remain hopeful that there is more improvement to come.

I think Sherry paid a price for being such a trooper on my birthday this weekend. She was pretty sick the next day. She was better yesterday, but still not quite herself. Hopefully today she will be all the way back.

The picture on the top of this post is Sherry's most recent attempt at signing her name. It is by far the best, she is getting better at it. She was rightfully proud of what she did, holding the piece of paper in her had to show me as soon as I walked in the door last night. I am so proud of her.

well, thats all I have time for this morning,

I love my wife.... today we move forward